After opening with a one-under 71, Kim fired a five-under 67 to be in a share of fifth at the midway point of the tournament at Hoakalei Country Club.
At six under, she is two shots off the lead shared by Thailand's Natthakritta Vongtaveelap and sponsor invite Yu Jin Sung.
Sarah Kemp found her way back from an opening round 74 to be the next-best Australian at three under after a solid 69.
Making her second LPGA Tour start, the 20-year-old Vongtaveelap had four birdies and two bogeys in the second round to match Yu Jin Sung at eight-under 136.
In February, Vongtaveelap won her first two events as pro on the Thai LPGA Tour, then was second behind Lilia Vu in the LPGA Thailand.
She opened with a bogey-free 66 on Wednesday to share the first-round lead with Frida Kinhult.
Sung had her second straight 68. The South Korean player had five birdies and a bogey.
Georgia Hall and Linnea Strom were a stroke back. Hall, from England, had a 66, and Strom, from Sweden, shot a 67.
"The first four, five holes was maybe a club-and-a-half wind, and then after that it got up to like when I played yesterday afternoon," Hall said.
"It's pretty windy out there still, so pretty tough conditions."
Strom rebounded from two consecutive late bogeys to close with her eighth birdie of the day.
"I'm just very happy with how I handled myself in the wind," Strom said. "I just was patient and just took one hole at a time."
Kinhult dropped six shots behind, following her opening 66 with a 76.
Defending champion Hyo Joo Kim also struggled, making late consecutive double bogeys in a 78 that left her 10 strokes back.
The Chevron Championship, the first women's major championship of the year, is next week in Texas.
13°C